Finding your 1rm and 5rm?

Heya guys, I need to find out my 1rm and 5rm for a few exercises, aside from loading up weight till you can only lift it 1 or 5 times (and probably wasting some energy on reps that weren't quite on the mark, And I really dont want to load up and squat that heavy) is there some formula or online calculator or something that will let you plug in a certain amount of weight you lifted along with the reps and have it convert those values into your 1rm and 5rm?

And if so, is there a good rep range to aim fo when doing them (some try to use a weight your pretty sure you can do atleast 8-15 times or something, like is it more accurate when you stick to lower reps or higher reps, and I assume partial reps dont count, but if they dont, wouldn't that make lower reps less accurate for that?)

1RM calculators are a waste of time although they're a popular choice for noobs compiling their e-stats for bodyspace and sigs. If you want to know your 1RM, test for it. Everything else is guesswork. They are only remotely accurate for some people on some lifts when a low RM is used, like 3-5, and not "8-15."

If you can't at least test for a 5RM then you probably have business working with a program that uses percentages. "But I'm doing a program that says I need to do 3 sets of 5 at 80% of my 1RM." If you're not going to lift a 1RM then why work off percentages of a 1RM? It's stupid.

Just see how much you can lift for 1 rep. That is the only way to know. Estimation/calculators suck. If you never did your 1RM, then it ISN'T your 1RM. If you afraid to test it, then you'll never know.

And to add to the above comments; although I'm sure people do it, I find it ridiculous that people would post a calculated max as their own accomplishment.

Not to add to a dogpile here, but if you are aren't aware enough of your capabilities to even ballpark what your maxes might be (before you test them), are you sure you need to be using a program that would require you to work with percentages of your max?

Just see how much you can lift for 1 rep. That is the only way to know. Estimation/calculators suck. If you never did your 1RM, then it ISN'T your 1RM. If you afraid to test it, then you'll never know.

And to add to the above comments; although I'm sure people do it, I find it ridiculous that people would post a calculated max as their own accomplishment.

Oh my god! The bubuness of this thread has finally helped us come to agreement on at least one subject.

Now back to your world of myths.

"Every kiss begins with Kay" Delts

"This AIN'T ninth grade and no one gives a S H I T how much you bench" - Will Harris

What can brown do for you?

Everybody wanna be a bodybuilder, but don't nobody want to lift moderate weight for high reps.

Gotcha, so all calculated 1rm's are prettymuch inaccurate. I want to try the 5x5 routine and it says you should know your 1rm to gauge if you have gotten stronger after a few weeks. Im still not very comfortable doing a 1rm of a squat though, I have a weight bench in the basement that I can easily get help spotting, but I dont have anyone I know at the gym I go to that can help me spot that, Its the main reason I was looking for some other way to work it out.

I really could care less about a number to try to show off on the forums for, and how very accurate it may be for bragging rights.

Gotcha, so all calculated 1rm's are prettymuch inaccurate. I want to try the 5x5 routine and it says you should know your 1rm to gauge if you have gotten stronger after a few weeks. Im still not very comfortable doing a 1rm of a squat though, I have a weight bench in the basement that I can easily get help spotting, but I dont have anyone I know at the gym I go to that can help me spot that, Its the main reason I was looking for some other way to work it out.

I really could care less about a number to try to show off on the forums for, and how very accurate it may be for bragging rights.

Keep it simple. If you're doing 5x5, start with a weight you can get 8-10 reps with for example, and gradually increase the weight to test for a 5RM. When you establish a 5RM which you can call a PR, then you can work off that.

The point I was trying to make is if you have no intention of lifting a 1RM anytime soon, why work off %s of a 1RM? Use something more practical that you will test for regularly.

If you're lifting more weight for a set of 5 reps or doing more sets with a given weight for 5 reps, then you've made progress. Unless you're at an advanced level and training specifically for strength (i.e. PL), there really isn't much to be gained by working with percentages. Way too many people make their training more complicated than it needs to be. Make it more complicated when simple methods stop working.

Since I work out at home without a spotter, I use the calculator to see if I'm in the ballpark before attempting a heavier weight. I don't see much point in a one rep set, so I'll take a weight I'm lifting 10 times, and see what I should be able to lift 5 times.

Since I work out at home without a spotter, I use the calculator to see if I'm in the ballpark before attempting a heavier weight. I don't see much point in a one rep set, so I'll take a weight I'm lifting 10 times, and see what I should be able to lift 5 times.

Power rack FTW. Beats me how many times I've linked this video but Lencho will start asking for royalties soon...